If you were not with senior criminal justice major Eliott Johnson shooting in the gym, there is a good chance you saw him training during his off-season.

Johnson is a member of Pace’s lacrosse team and has been getting ready for the season opener on Feb. 23. While he only started playing lacrosse as a junior, Johnson has been a frequent weight room visitor throughout his life.

“The first time I ever set foot in a gym I was 11 years old,” Johnson said. “It was at a sports camp, my friend and I were playing basketball and we went into the weight room just to check it out. We saw this guy benching, I tried to bench what he did and the weight collapsed right on my chest.”

Since that day, Johnson has gotten to work, bulking up in order to play sports at a high level. While the Corinthians stated that the human body is a temple, Johnson believes that the inner sanctum of the human body holds the keys to remodeling the outside.

“Your mind, body, and soul all need to be focused when working out,” Johnson said. “The first thing that people see is your body, you need to be comfortable with yourself and how you look, so the three most important muscles are your mind, body, and spirit.”

Johnson’s mind, body, and spirit all appeared to be in focus under the banners of Goldstein Gym. This day was to be spent honing the upper body.

In between benching and pushups, Johnson reflected on his time as a former two-sport athlete at Pace. In Johnson’s freshman year he played both football and baseball before switching to lacrosse halfway through his undergrad career.

Still, for Johnson, each sport presents its own unique challenge.

“They are all equally demanding,” Johnson said. “They all require speed, strength, and stamina. In football, size is very important, with baseball you focus more on your core strength, and in lacrosse you focus a lot on your stamina. They are all different.”

While some men and women want the bodies seen on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or that of their favorite athlete, Johnson said that is not the purpose of working out. He said everyone should try to establish his or her own physical goals.

“The best thing is to just figure out what you want and just to start slow,” Johnson said. “Have somebody to help you out. It’s always good to workout with a partner because you are less likely to skip a set or cheat your weight, you hold each other accountable.”

The weights were put down and the vital pushups ensued. Johnson said that pushups were a good body workout for wherever you are.

In the few moments the workout stopped, athletes from different teams stopped by to say hello to their fellow gym member.

“It’s easier to hold each other accountable being on a team,” Johnson said. “You all have the same goals and you are all keeping each other motivated, we push each other to get better in a positive way.”

After the final abdominal workout of the day, Johnson left the fitness domain and walked out into the rain. He, like his fellow athletes at Pace, will be heading back to Goldstein soon enough.